Webinar: Retain Brand Loyalty with Location-Based Services

So I'll be doing a webinar with social media smarty, Cody Barbierri of Piehead, next Wednesday (11/17) titled Retain Brand Loyalty with Location-Based Services. The webinar is free and it will take place from 2:00 - 3:00 PM ET.

Here's the official writeup of the event:

Facebook has expanded the value of location-based check-ins for its 200 million plus mobile users. Twitter has broadened the horizons of its geolocation platform to provide more value for businesses and users. Foursquare has exploded to more than 4 million users and continues to offer businesses ways to build brand loyalty. Location-based services are certainly here to stay.

Utilizing mobile and location-based concepts to engage an audience on new levels can do wonders for a brand that’s looking to increase customer loyalty. The marketing potential around these services, like Foursquare and Facebook Places, represents an opportunity for brands to engage and retain their key audiences.

Location-based services represent a new access point for brand engagement and marketing opportunities. While every brand’s marketing goals and objectives are different, some of the potential uses may include special offers and discounts sent via mobile, games and mobile apps.

Join two industry leaders for this thought provoking web seminar and discover how targeted location-based service campaigns can drive increased consumer engagement and long-term brand loyalty. By attending the event, you will not only learn about the major players in the space, but also gain greater insight into how to:

• Track customers using various location-based services
  
• Engage with users to ensure increased brand loyalty
  
• Retain and develop relationships while giving potential customers reasons to convert
  
• Analyze marketing efforts and customer response through continuous analysis
  
• Cody and I will also be available to answer your questions during a live Q+A session.
  

Hope you can join us! Register here.

Social Media Help Desk: Social Won't Kill a Crisis, but Lack of Social During a Crisis Will Kill You

Date: Wednesday, October 27th
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 PM CT (note your time zone)
Speakers: Valeria Maltoni, Doug Wick (moderator) and me (Aaron)

A PR crisis comes and goes without much warning. The 24/7 environment of social media networks is a perfect farming ground for these potentially uncontrollable situations. While most companies have a solid foundation for social media engagement, these guidelines do not provide an integrated strategy, capable of navigating the murky waters of a PR storm. When the storm hits, the customer dictates how much preparation and reaction time you have. This is the worst time to learn to deal with the situation.

Establishing an integrated social media strategy is the key to weathering these situations successfully. Join Valeria Maltoni, Aaron Strout and Doug Wick as they explore the foundations for planning ahead and preparing for a PR crisis. Valeria will spend 30 minutes discussing the crisis communication groundwork and remaining 30 minutes will be focused on you and your questions. By attending, you will learn:

• Why companies need to be involved and communicate early on.
• The steps needed to build a communication framework for your organization and weather a crisis in real time.
• How to keep your cool during a crisis.

You in? Sign up now. And if you want to ask questions ahead of time, feel free to leave 'em in the comments!

Co-opetition Anyone? An Agency Perspective

Below you'll find a post I contributed with friends, Todd Defren of SHIFT and Adam Cohen of Rosetta. The intro was penned by Mr. Cohen -- the write-ups on each of our respective companies were written by, well, us. You can find Todd and Adam's correlating posts here and here.

Changing markets cause change for those who serve them. As businesses adapt and figure out how social media will impact how they conduct day to day functions, service providers are adapting too. These days companies have a high probability of encountering any of the following providing social media services:

• Sole prioprietor (independent contractor)
• Social media agency (small, medium and increasingly larger)
• PR agency (traditional, new media, all sizes)
• Digital or interactive agency (all sizes)
• Advertising agency (all sizes, but particularly the big dogs)
• CRM consulting firm
• Database marketing agency

Given the overlap in the "social" space, my friends and fellow agency movers-n-shakers, Todd Defren of SHIFT and Adam Cohen of Rosetta, have come together with me to create a brief description of what we do and how we do it to bring some clarity to the role each of our companies play in the space. We also talk about when we our companies might not be the best fit for a job (how's that for transparency?)

------------

This is my company...

One of the top-25 PR agencies in the U.S., with offices in NYC, San Francisco and Boston, SHIFT is an agency that helps organizations of all sizes better communicate with the people that matter to their business. Sometimes that’s “the media,” sometimes that’s “some loudmouth on Twitter.” Companies ranging from Quiznos to Club Med, from tiny start-ups to established tech companies, look to SHIFT for counsel and execution on both branded and earned media.

What we do…

SHIFT focuses on “on-going engagement” vs. “campaigns.” And because relationships change over time, our targets and tactics evolve as-needed. Thus the portfolio of services a client will tap into can include: Traditional Media Relations (coverage in NYTimes, TODAY Show, eWeek, etc.) + Social Media Relations (dialogue with relevant Facebook Group admins, Twitterati, etc.) + Content and App Development + Community Management (running a YouTube channel or Facebook Fanpage).

This is why you should call me (type of challenge or project)…

We are generally called on by large brands that need to act more like a start-up or by small companies that want to take things to the next level. If your company needs more overall visibility (“get ink!”); needs to better engage with consumers (“that Social Media stuff!”); or needs to brand or re-brand in the marketplace, it’s worth a conversation.

This is when you should call someone else…

While we bring plenty of creativity to the table, when it comes to execution portion of app development, videography, website development, advertising campaigns, media buying and SEO, SHIFT will turn to quality partners like Powered and Rosetta, among others.

------------

This is my company...

Rosetta is the largest independent digital agency in the US. Using a patented approach to segmentation, called Personality® Segmentation (yep, it’s patented and a differentiator), which provides deep insights into the drivers of consumer behavior, Rosetta’s teams translate these insights into relevant marketing solutions to attract, retain and strengthen a brand’s most valuable customer relationships. With 720+ team members, Rosetta is headquartered in Princeton, NJ, with offices in NYC, Cleveland, Boston, Chicago, Denver and most recently Toronto.

What we do...

We help companies develop strategies and implement marketing tactics, combining the best of insight + technology – from eCommerce to Paid Search to Creative to Analytics to Relationship Marketing. With all the tools in a marketer’s toolbox, we strive to be a CMO’s most trusted partner. Our industry expertise includes Retail & Consumer Products; Healthcare; Financial Services; Communications, Media & Technology, and B2B.

This is why you should call me (type of challenge or project)...
We’re best when we bring to together marketing disciplines and industry acumen to provide measurable integrated solutions. We shine we get the opportunity to demonstrate business results across tactics – like integrating eCommerce with paid search/SEO, driving the best creative with analytics and measurement, or infusing CRM with Personality Segmentation.

This is when you should call someone else...
Traditional media outlets are outside of our sweet spot (TV, print, radio), along with traditional PR. Our social media practice is focused on infusing social into all of our marketing disciplines, but we are partnering with world-class agencies like SHIFT on outreach programs and Powered on designing the best approaches to engage and activate communities.

------------

This is my company...

Powered is a dedicated social media agency that helps brands fully capitalize on their social initiatives. With 75 employees in four offices (Austin, New York City, Portland and San Francisco) we brings "best-in-class" expertise across the social spectrum to our clients by offering a combination of strategy, planning, activation and management for social presence and programs.

What we do...
Okay, I guess I answered this in the "this is my company" section but to add on, we help big brands with strategy and activation (getting their key stakeholders like customers, prospects, partners or employees) to do things that create value for their brand. Those activities might include evangelizing, contributing, participating or learning.

This is why you should call me (type of challenge or project)...
We're really at our best when we're helping big brands (mainly B2C) connect their social efforts to their marketing efforts. We start by fleshing out a cohesive strategy and then move toward the activation. In many cases, this includes focusing on things like influencer outreach, ambassador programs, Facebook Fanpages, applications and customer tabs and the building and managing of branded online communities.

This is when you should call someone else...
We're still not particularly good at media buying, custom web development (outside of Facebook and community building), SEM and general site SEO. We also don't do any traditional PR. For those activities, I'd strongly recommend talking to our friends at Rosetta and SHIFT, both of whom we partner/work with.

How did we do? Feedback here or on any of our posts is welcome.

Quick'n'Dirty Episode 37: Plancast Anyone?

A pattern is starting to emerge with my podcast partner, Jennifer Leggio, and me... With some of stronger featured a social networks and/or Twitterers of the week, we like them so much that we end up inviting them onto the show as our guest. This week was no different when we showcased the CEO of Plancast, Mark Hendrickson.

We kicked things off by reviewing Entrustnet -- a new breed of social/digital sites that take into consideration the fact that we are not immortal and that eventually, we have to consider what happens to our social and digital assets once we die. While I haven't had a chance to try Entrustnet yet (I don't believe Jennifer has either), we liked the concept of what these guys bring to the table (interesting back story on how they got started can be found on their site). Jennifer's one caveat which is worth considering and that is the potential security risk of putting one's user names and passwords online.

Next up was our aforementioned guest, Mark Hendrickson, CEO of Plancast. You can see our earlier recap of Plancast here or see what Mark's former boss, Michael Arrington, had to say about this social network that many dub "FourSquare for future events." Two things I will say about Mark:

1. He is smart and a true gentlemen. Jennifer and I peppered him with questions and he answered all of them directly and graciously.
2. I love his transparency regarding Plancast's product roadmap, something we discussed at length during the show. If you want real proof of what I'm talking about, see Mark's comment on our friend (and next week's guest show host), Kyle Flaherty's, post regarding Plancast.

We followed our segment with Mark Hendrickson with a very quick recap of our featured Twitterer of the week, Stephen L. Rose. Stephen is the worldwide community manager for Windows 7. He's also a big Chicago Blackhawks fan which may have had a little something to do with his being selected. Stephen was kind enough to join us in the chat room which always makes the show a little more exciting -- thanks for doing that Stephen!

Last up was our point / counterpoint of whether or not "first to market" (something that tech blogger, Robert Scoble has said is one of the keys to winning) was in fact important. Jennifer used the example of  location-based services, FourSquare and Gowalla. In this particular case, FourSquare was first by a longshot coming out in 2007 -- originally launching as "Dodgeball," purchased by Google and then spun off as FourSquare. Gowalla, a relative newcomer, has caught up to FourSquare in terms of number of users and seems to be geting an equal amount of press these days. This point / counterpoint ended up being more of a discussion than a debate but hopefully we brought some interesting points to the table.

As a reminder, you can find past Quick'n'Dirty recaps on Jennifer ZDNet blog or here on blog.stroutmeister.com. You can also listen to past episodes on iTunes or over on the show site here.

Finally, remember that starting on April 29, our show is moving to it's new time (noon PT / 2 PM CT) and new format (30 minutes vs. 45 minutes).  Please also note that we are looking for an intern/producer to help with the show 1 hour or so a week. This role will help with show scheduling, site updates, guest coordination and occasional appearances on the show. If interested, e-mail or DM Jennifer or me.

Quick'n'dirty Podcast 35: Wine + Techmology = Cool

Yes, I know I misspelled the word "technology." That wasn't by mistake. If you don't get the joke, maybe you should be spending more time watching Ali G. reruns...

In all seriousness, yesterday was a really fun show. It started with me raving about newly discovered podcast platform/technology iPadio (H/T to friend Bryan Person). My co-host, Jennifer, hadn't had a chance to spend much time with with the service yet but agreed with my assessment that they showed promise. Here are the four things I really like about their service:

1. The sound quality -- at least on the iPhone -- is crystal clear. I assume the recording on other devices is equally good (you listen for yourself with my test podcasts).
2. You can record offline (assuming you have an app) and upload when you have connectivity. This is good for planes or car rides where cell coverage can vary.
3. When I decided to give iPadio a test and mentioned so on Twitter, James O'Malley (he mans their Twitter presence) immediately chimed in and offered up his help if I needed it.
4. Their CEO, Mark Smith, followed up with me after my first test and let me know about a cool project they participated in recently.

Next up, we had one of our most interesting guests to date in Paul Mabray, chief strategy officer of Vintank. Not only is he funny (his Twitter picture says it all) but his company is bringing technology and innovation to one of the oldest industries in the world, namely, wine.

During our 25 minute conversation, Paul covered some of the reasons why it's tricky to innovate in the wine industry including state regulations, dirth of eCommerce know-how and a general lack of knowledge of the end customer on the part of most of the vineyards/wineries -- an issue caused by selling almost exclusively through intermediaries. As if humor and smarts weren't enough, one of the other things that Jennifer and I really appreciated about Paul/Vintank is that he brings 16 years of wine industry experience to the table. Yup, this guy knows the space inside and out.

Speaking of smart, our featured, "Twitterer of the week" was Lon Cohen aka @Obilon. While I wasn't as familiar with Lon as Jennifer was, he has an impressive background. His LinkedIn profile points to his background in strategic online marketing, communications, social media, SEO and content management. He also demonstrates a healthy dose of snark in his tweet stream which as anyone that follows our show knows is a huge plus in our book.

Last but not least was our point / counterpoint. This week, we talked about "what comes first, philanthropy or fans." Jennifer talked about an example of a company that offered to send a pump to Haiti if they reached a certain number followers. Her gripe was, why not just buy the pump and send it and then encourage follower-ship based on the good deed. I argued that while it would be a noble for company X to send the pump up front, the reason they can afford to buy the pump in the first place is that they've made a strategic bet that the social buzz they create through this PR stunt can drive meaningful marketing results. Where Jennifer and I both agreed was that being singularly focused on quantity vs. quality of followers.

On the housekeeping front, here are three things Jennifer and I would like to to put on your radar:

• As of April 29, Jennifer and I are going to move our "live broadcast" time from 6 PM ET / 3 PM PT to 3 PM ET / 12 PM PT. We are also trimming our show from 45 to 30 minutes (same format, just crisper).
• We are officially looking for an unpaid intern / producer (we will pay in love, kindness and recognition). Time commitment is likely 1-2 hours / week. Ideally person has some podcast editing skills, knowledge of social networks and highly organized. If interested, DM Jennifer or me for details.
• You can listen to past shows here, or read recaps on Jennifer's ZDNet blog or my Stroutmeister blog.

Until next week, booyakasha.

Quick-n-dirty Podcast Recap 34: Pistachios Anyone?

The seeming trend recently has been that my Quick-n-dirty podcast partner, Jennifer Leggio, and I have been more apart than together. This has been mostly my fault as my travel schedule has been a little nuts, but this past week, Jennifer got to take her "week off" as she was attending an RSA Conference. As a result, we had another special guest host. This week, it was none other than Laura Fitton, founder and CEO of oneforty.com and co-author of Twitter for Dummies.

As you know, we normally try and include a guest even when we have a guest host but this week, we went the unconventional route and I made Laura our guest during that portion of the show. Given her in depth knowledge of Twitter, this worked out well as she filled us in on their recent town hall, their upcoming developers event called Chirp and some of the rumors that have swirled based a certain tweet that led folks to believe that Twitter employees had access to some pretty phenomenal Twitter functionality that the outside world wasn't privy to. If you or your business spends any time at all, this interview with Laura is a must listen.

Of course no show would be complete without our featured social network of the week. This week's choice was social aggregator, Nomee. Having just seen a demo of all their slick funcationality, I couldn't resist highlighting them (thanks to Renee Leger whome my colleague, Bill Fanning, and I met at the recent Social Media Club Dallas event for connecting us with Nomee). The thing I liked most about Nomee was the fact that it allowed you to follow a group or individual's activities across 140 different social networks via a desktop (or iPhone) app and then drill down on a network at any given time.

For our featured Twitterer of the week, we were pleased to announce Keith Burtis. Keith is an unusual combination of photographer, community manager, developer, podcaster and blogger. He's currently consulting but most recently was working for BestBuy and helped with their blogger outreach at last year's SXSW. This year, he's connected with a mutual friend, Patrick Moran of Fuzebox and is evangelizing new Fuzebox offering, Tweetshare. I haven't seen the app yet but based on what Patrick and Keith have told me, it's pretty cool. So if you like anything that has to do with community management, social media for business or photography, you'd be a fool not to introduce Keith into your Twitter stream.

Finally, Laura and I wrapped up with... what else but a conversation about whether Twitter will be sold this year and if so, to whom. We were tight on time at this point so we didn't get too far into a point / counterpoint but Laura believe's that IF Twitter were to be sold (and she's not convinced that it will be), Google will be the one to buy. I contended that I do think Twitter will be sold and it SHOULD be this year for them to obtain maximum value but that won't likely be the case. However, if/when they do sell, I believe it won't be Google who continues to try and replicate Twitter via acquisitions (Jaiku) and home grown offerings (Wave/Buzz) but rather Yahoo! MSN or Facebook.

Unfortunately, Jennifer and I won't be doing a show this week do to travel and the onset of SXSW. However, you can feel free to take this opportunity to read past write ups either here or one Jennifer's ZDNet blog. Or even better, you can listen to archives of the show on Blog Talk Radio.

Quick-n-dirty Podcast Recap 33: Reunited Edition!

It's been a few weeks since my podcast partner in crime, Jennifer Leggio, and I have been able to do a Quick-n-Dirty podcast together. For two weeks in a row, travel prevented me from joining her on our weekly show. Fortunately, we had a couple of more than capable substitutes in Brian Solis (author and principal of FutureWorks) and Greg Matthews, director of innovation at Humana. Write ups from the shows with Brian and Greg can be found here and here on Jennifer's ZDNet blog.

This week, Jennifer and I were back in the saddle again with me broadcasting live from Jackson Hole, WY (yes, I took one for the team). We had an action packed show starting with our featured social network of the week, Hollrr. Neither Jennifer or I had had much of chance to play with Hollrr but saw some decent potential in this site that Mashable likens to "Foursquare for product discovery" (full review here). Both Jennifer and I appreciated Hollrr's off-the-shelf integration with other social networks like Twitter and Facebook and I personally look forward to getting product recommendations from friends and connections. Oh yeah, they have a pretty cool logo too.

Next up was our featured guest (and former "Twitterer of the week,") Simon Mainwaring. If you don't know Simon, you should. Officially, he is a branding consultant, advertising creative director, blogger, author and speaker. A former Nike creative at Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, and worldwide creative director for Motorola at Ogilvy, he now consults for brands and creative companies that are re-inventing their industries. During this week's show, Simon shared some fascinating updates from a recent trip he took to the Middle East as a guest of the Brookings Institute. The focus was on social media and foreign policy, two disciplines that traditionally don't share the same space. I won't pretend to do Simon's interview justice so just this one time, I'm MANDATING that you listen to at least Simon's portion of the show (starts about 7 mins in and runs for aproximately 25 minutes).

Speaking of "Twitterers of the week," this week's choice was principal of The Community Roundtable (and close friend), Jim Storer. As I mentioned during the show, nobody has done a better job at taking community management skills to Twitter than Jim. Regularly mixing helpful tips, humor, love of bacon and Red Sox commentary into his stream, Jim is a "must add" to anyone's Twitter follow list irrespective of what industry they are in.

Last but not least, our point/counterpoint focused on one of Jennifer's recent blog posts, Twitter: Becoming Nothing Special. Jennifer's post theorizes that the recent announcement of Yahoo's partnership with Twitter pushes them from "new shiny object" into the merely "ordinary" category. While Jennifer didn't see this as all bad, she wondered aloud if this might hurt Twitter's future potential. Taking the opposing side of this issue, I argued that this is exactly what Twitter (and social media) need. Making Twitter and other social networks like "electricity" -- something we don't ever even think about in spite of the critical role it plays in our daily lives -- is a good thing. To me, this means that it's so ingrained in our daily lives, personal and professional, that we can't live without it.

Looking forward to next week's show, Jennifer and I will switch places and I will be working with friend and founder of Oneforty, Laura Fitton, as my guest host. Jennifer will be attending the RSA Conference and thus will be out of pocket for this week's Quick-n-Dirty. I'm sure she'll want to listen to the show (as will you). Fortunately for her, our shows are archived here and on iTunes (search on "quickndirty").

Quick-n-dirty Podcast Recap 31: Quick-n-dirty style...

I LOVE doing the weekly Quick-n-Dirty podcast show every week with co-host, Jennifer Leggio. It's not only professionally rewarding but also a lot of fun. I'm not going to lie though, finding the time to do the "recap" post is always a little challenging. So this week, I'm going to do it quick and dirty style.

• Social network of the week is the Daily Booth. Think of Flickr meets Twitter where members are encouraged to snap a picture of themselves once a day/365 days a year. Both Jennifer and I agreed that this may not be our cup of tea (lots of GenY-ers) but it is an interesting concept, especially when you watch the live feed.
• Our special guest this week was Mr. SocialNerdia himself, Esteban Contreras. Not only is he an uber blogger/podcaster but he was newly anointed as social media manager for Samsung Electronics. Since Esteban spends a lot of time for Samsung tweeting, we asked him a lot of Twitter-centric questions. My favorite was, what if Twitter goes away tomorrow? Jen followed up with another great one asking, if you do pick another network, what are you doing to grow relationships with your enthusiasts in those other networks. All in all, Esteban was a great sport and even participated in the very chatty chatroom.
• Our featured Twitterer of the week is Ron Shevlin, former Forrester VP and current senior analyst at Aite Group. He's also a damn funny tweeter and a really thoughtful (and contrarian) marketing blogger. If you haven't checked him yet, change that in a hurry.
• Finally, Jennifer and I mixed it up a little bit on during our normal point / counterpoint session. Instead of duking it out, we talked about the premier of one of our favorite shows, LOST. If you watch the show but missed the premier, I won't spoil it for you. If you did watch it and want to hear what we said, check out the archive of the show here.

Wow - so how's that for fast? Did I miss something? Well, then leave it in the comments. By the way, I won't be joining you all next week. Our friend and rock star entrepreneur/PR 2.0 king, Brian Solis will be filling in for me. Be sure to check that show out next Thursday at 6 PM ET / 3 PM PT.

What Marketers Want

A couple of months ago, I wrote a post titled, The Start of Something Bigger? It came on the heels of Ants Eye View's announcement that they had just joined forces with authors/consultants, Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell. Then last week white label community provider, Jive Software, announced that they had purchased listening platform, Filtrbox. All the while I watched with interest knowing that we had some big news of our own to announce in early January.

Let's start with the news since I know that nobody likes to be left hanging. Today, I'm  proud to announce that Powered Inc is launching a full-service social media agency through the acquisition of industry leaders crayon, Drillteam and StepChange. The reason we're so excited about this is because we feel that we are now better positioned to help brands (and their agencies) define and deliver comprehensive social media strategies that integrate with their traditional marketing mix. How shall we do this you ask? By leveraging tools and tactics such as Facebook, Twitter, blogger outreach, events, communities and mobile applications of course.

We felt like it was important to take this approach because up until now, marketers have lacked a "go to" resource that could meet all of their social needs. This does not diminish any of the smart, driven and successful other boutiques and consultancies out there that help their clients with their social initiatives but rather that none of them truly provide the end-to-end solutions necessary to meet all of a marketers needs -- at least not with scale. While this may not have been a big deal in 2009 when the entire economy took a mulligan, it will be in 2010 as social media moves from experiment to mission critical.

Okay, I know you've probably got tons of questions. I'm going to try to preemptively answer a few below but you there will also be several opportunities to join us live this week:

• Today (01/11/10) on Twitter at 1:00 PM CT for a live press conference (hashtag, #powered)
  
• Tomorrow (01/12/10) on JaffeJuice: New Marketing Podcast.
• Thursay (01/14/10) on the Quick-n-Dirty Podcast show.
  

As for the answers, here goes...

Why didn’t Powered just develop these additional social media capabilities?
We thought long and hard about the “build vs. buy” strategy, but in the end, we realized that we would dramatically increase our speed to market and add some serious talent (not to mention about 50 new brand relationships) to the Powered team by moving forward with these acquisitions.

Who are Crayon, Drillteam, StepChange?

• Crayon brings extensive experience as a strategic social marketing consultancy to the table. They work with Fortune 1000 brands to develop strategies that positively impact customer relationships through the integration of continuous online conversations into traditional marketing programs. Crayon President Joseph Jaffe and his entire team will join Powered’s robust staff of marketers, content creators and social media leaders, with crayon and Powered immediately merging their capabilities.
• Drillteam is an engagement marketing agency specializing in earned media.  Drillteam helps brands acquire and energize customer advocates, then sustain momentum through both offline events and online communities, and promotions on platforms like Facebook, niche blogs and Twitter.  Drillteam will retain its name and operate as a Powered company.
• StepChange enhances a brand’s reach by extending presence into social networks and mobile platforms through Facebook development/applications, social site development, mobile/apps and Widget Ads.  StepChange will retain its name and operate as a Powered company.
  

Will Joseph Jaffe (Crayon) be staying on? If so, what role will he play at Powered?
Who is Joe Jaffe? Of course we’re kidding. Joe will play a big role in the new organization as “Chief Interrupter” of the group. He will continue to challenge the industry by providing prolific thought leadership, vision and guidance via his Jaffe Juice blog, podcast and TV show, keynote and panel presence at industry events and conferences, as well as his three books (Life after the 30-second spot, Join the Conversation and soon to be released, Flip the Funnel). More importantly, he will serve as a valued resource to Powered clients to “interrupt” the status quo, think through their social strategy and help conceive and flesh out unique and specific ideas and programs in the space.

Does the industry need another agency?
The industry certainly doesn’t need another agency that does the same thing as its predecessors. To be perfectly honest, we’re not exactly enamored with the idea of being called an “agency” at all. But this isn’t about us: It’s about the world’s largest, loved and important brands and what they need. Many members of our leadership team have lived, and successfully navigated through, several key advances in brand management, communication and emerging media innovation—led by the rise, fall and rise again of digital. We see the gaping void, disconnect or chasm between identification of need and the ability to fully deliver against that need. Social media is not another color on the media flow chart and it is not a subservient subset of digital either. Instead, we see social as a truly pervasive and transformational category in of itself that spans the entire marketing gamut—and even beyond it (touching P.R., customer service, R&D, innovation and customer experience). For that reason, we believe that we will be one of the first—and certainly not the last—of specialist, best in class agents that are equipped, staffed and scaled to fully execute and activate against this growing capability, skill set, need and opportunity. 

What is a Social Agency?
A Social Agency or social media agency is an entity that assists companies and brands in the new world of conversational marketing. The confluence of digital, virtual and peer-to-peer networks is causing consumers to act more as a collective than ever before, and they are demanding a truly two-way conversation. We are looking to be the partner that will help brands enter and be successful in that conversation, by building a successful strategy that:

• Connects business to social
• Joins and manages network presence
• Builds and manages branded communal spaces
• Connects conversationally through mobile and physical events
  

The Social Media Agency is the horizontal layer that must be centrally managed but also closely integrated with all of the traditional vertical functions of marketing, such as media, interactive, PR and creative.

What else am I missing? A lot I'm sure. But as you know, I'm pretty good at delivering updates real time through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, my blog, etc. Oh, we're also planning a couple of big blowouts at OMMA Social (January 26) and South by Southwest (SXSW Interactive) in mid-March.

Let's get it on!

Tiny Bubbles, Beancast Style

Sunday night, I had the privilege of participating in Bob Knorpp's BeanCast show for the third time. This go around, I joined big thinkers, Joe Jaffe, president and chief disruptor at Crayon, Bill Green, owner of Make the Logo Bigger and Adverve and Matt McDermott, assistant creative director at, Renegade.



During the show, we covered a lot of ground (Bob demands a lot of his guests):

• Google's realtime search - namely, will it make a difference and will marketers care?
• Astroturfing - why it's a bad idea.
• Method's "bubble" ad - should they have pulled it?
• Augmented reality - does it have legs?
• Abbey Klaassen - do we agree or disagree with Abbey's assertion that advertisers are missing the boat on doing more around Super Bowl ads.

Great show. I highly recommend that you check it out here (mp3), here (show notes) or here (iTunes).

Quick-n-dirty Podcast Recap 24: @Skydiver Style

While episode 24 of the Quick-n-Dirty podcast show ended up being a lot of fun, it definitely didn't start off that way. Without going into too much detail, technical difficulties prevented my partner in crime, Jennifer Leggio, from dialing into the show until about 2 minutes int. Having done hundreds of podcasts and webcasts, I am pretty good at rolling with the punches but this definitely took me out of my "Zen" mode for the first five minutes of the show. To that end, I apologize to social network of the week, Sponty, because I was definitely a little distracted during this portion of the show.

To make up for my distracted state, I'm going to give Sponty a little more ink here than I usually do. I also want to note for Jennifer's sake (listeners of the show know that she's a Blackberry gal and any SocialNetwork that doesn't provide a BB app gets a black mark in her book) that Android and Blackberry users CAN use Sponty via their mobile web interface (native apps coming sometime in the future).

In their own words...

Sponty is a mobile and web app that lets you create and discover social activity feeds around you. Many of our users create topical feeds that tell you about fun things happening around town, like indie music and hipster parties. Others use it to organize casual get togethers with friends. You can see the current activity here: http://www.thesponty.com/whatsup.


While location is important, Sponty's premise is that the type of the activity, and which of your friends are going is a bigger determining factor for whether to go to something. I mean, if you're already at the bar, it's too late for me to join because I'd still need to jump and the shower and then the T (Boston's public transportation). Sponty let's people broadcast their social intentions so that their friends can join them.

So I can see why Sponty might be interesting to folks but my biggest concern -- like any other geo-based social network -- is that without critical mass, the tool becomes irrelevant. Can Sponty overcome this issue? Perhaps. But it might be a whole lot more useful if it could tap into Facebook and Twitter's social graphs.

[postscript: I had forgotten that Sponty uses Google for it's login. Not only is this smart (and a trend that will continue to grow IMHO), but counters one of my biggest critiques of Sponty and any other geo-based social network i.e. mass adoption/critical mass.]

Now onto our guest of the week who was none other than Peter Shankman, aka @Skydiver on the Twitter. You may have heard of him because I interviewed Peter during my Experts in the Industry series back in the spring. Peter has also built up quite a business for himself through is "Help a Reporter Out" (HARO) network of over 100,000 reporters, bloggers, PR folks and experts. In a nutshell, think of this as a matchmaking network where reporters can request information from experts via e-mail alerts that go out three times daily from Peter himself. Peter makes money off his service (while filling a huge need) by selling sponsorships of his daily e-mail alerts.

During our 25 minute conversation, we all got a good laugh (Peter is a funny dude) at some of Peter's insights and remarks when it came to "social media gurus." In fact, his quote of the show, "If you have the word guru or expert in your Twitter name or bio, you're not" got retweeted over a dozen times. Personally, I loved Peter's prediction for next year that social becomes ubiquitous vs. companies trying to "do social." He's also endeared himself to me because he is a fellow hater of voice mail (a future post from me on that topic is in the works).

Next up was our Twitterer of the week, Dave Fleet. Dave is the account director for social media at Thornley Fallis Communications and does a little blogging in his spare time. I let Jennifer take the lead on this one as Dave was her choice. Jennifer likes Dave because of his cynical yet smart writing style. Personally, I've followed Dave for a couple of years and enjoy him for exactly the same reasons. Maybe we'll have Dave on the show live sometime in the not too distant future.

For the signature portion of our show, our point/counterpoint, Jennifer and I focused on the topic of religion and social and more specificially, whether the two should mix. Jennifer wrote an eloquent post on this just a few days before and truth be told, I tend to feel pretty similarly to Ms. Leggio on this one. While I did disagree with Jennifer's assertion that including one's religion in their Facebook or Twitter profile wasn't inappropriate, I did concur with her distate for those that prostheletize via the social web. It will be interesting to see how this plays out as our personal and professional lives continue to become intertwined over the years.

If you missed last week's show, you can find the wrap up here on Jennifer's ZDNet blog. You can also find archives on iTunes as well as at our Quick-n-Dirty podcast site over on BlogTalkRadio. We hope you'll join us next Thursdsay as we talk to Karen Auby of Plantronics.

Interview Like a Pro: Lessons from Maestro, Susan Bratton

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Susan Bratton, the co-founder and host of the successful, Dishy Mix Podcast Show [listen to our podcast here]. I've known Susan for just over a year now and what I can tell you is that she is the MASTER when it comes to podcasting. Why I say this is that I enlisted her help during SXSW last year to do a series called Community Powered. The series focused on some of the "smarties" in the social space like some amazing folks like Lee Odden, Professor Henry Jenkins of MIT and authors Chris Brogan & Patricia Martin sharing their wisdom on the social web and how companies big and small could tap into its power to transform their business.


As a fellow podcaster, I was amazed at the thought and preparation that went into Susan's invite, prep and interview process. I am fairly thorough myself but Susan takes this stuff to a whole new level which is part of the impetus for this blog post.

Prior to my interview with Susan a few weeks ago, she sent me a list of questions to answer before we did the show. In addition to doing a lot of podcasting, I've also been interviewed a fair number of times by bloggers, podcasters and members of the traditional media. What I will tell you is that this list of questions was second to none. Of course I couldn't resist publishing it as it really got me thinking about myself, my job and my priorities in life. I'm including a link to some of Susan's other successful interviewing tips (if you currently interview or ever plan to interview someone, this list is a must listen).

Here are the questions she asked along with my answers. In the spirit of transparency, I promise that whether you like it or not, you'll know a lot more about me after you read this:


What do you want my listeners/viewers to know about you?
That I’m a smart marketer that is helping Powered and it’s customers tap into the power of social. If you can work in “funny” and “authentic,” that works too. ;)

What is your plan for yourself 10 years from now?
Retired. And I’m not kidding. That won’t mean that I won’t be working but rather that I can blog, travel, spend time with my family and do a little consulting on the side as appropriate, especially for non-profit companies.

Who I admire people who ______?

Work hard AND smart. Dave Evans is one of these people.

What has been your most positive speaking experience to date and why?
Two – one was a panel I did at a LOMA | ACORD event. I led a panel in front of 3,000 people from the insurance and financial services industry. Total adrenaline rush. The second was keynoting at the Inbound Marketing Summit in Dallas. I hit the timing perfectly and had several people come up to me after to learn more about Powered (that’s always my goal with speaking).

If you could keynote any conference or event, which one would it be and what would the title of your speech be?
TED – I’m not holding my breath on that one. One that I might have a shot at is the DMA. While I don’t love the conference itself, those are the people whose minds I need to change. Title of my speech would be “When Will You Understand that Today’s Advertising Models are Broken?”

What is one of the most outrageous things you’ve ever done?
Ummm, do you really want me to answer that? From a professional standpoint, it was announcing my departure from Mzinga to move to Powered on Twitter. On my 10,000 tweet no doubt. On a personal level, peeing on the Kremlin back in 1991 (oops, did I just write that?) LOL

In what area do you feel superior to most people? What talent or capability of yours is remarkable?
I don’t feel comfortable using the word “superior” because that makes me sound arrogant. I do feel like I have two great abilities however:

• like you, I am an uber-networker. I’ve been doing this long before the SocNets were around 
• I’d like to think that I bring the right mix of humor, authenticity, how to and creativity to teaching people how to use “social” to improve themselves and their businesses. I do this on my blog, on Twitter, at live events and podcasts.

What dark or traumatic event has actually had a beneficial impact on your life?
About 2/3 of the way through my stint at Fidelity Investments, I got myself into some hot water that nearly put my job in jeopardy. While many of the issues leading up to this “low point” weren’t my fault, I shared some of the blame. This ended up being one of the most humbling experiences I’ve ever had.

What is your life purpose?
To be a great husband, dad, brother, son and co-worker.

Name your single most amazing personal gift/talent.
As I mentioned before, I am a MEAN networker. I can also throw a nasty curve ball. ;)

Describe a time when you felt like a failure and tell us how you dealt with it.
Covered this earlier in my “most traumatic experience” but instead of jumping ship and leaving Fidelity, I stuck around, built myself back up and was actually about to be promoted to Vice President two weeks before I left to go to Mzinga. I learned a TON about the importance of being humble during this process.

Who has been your greatest teacher?
I’ve really had five (sorry, can’t pick just one). My 11th & 12th grade French teacher, Ms. Latin, my dad, Rick Lyman at Fidelity, Barry Libert at Mzinga and Francois Gossieaux who kicked off my “social” career in earnest.

If you could work for another company, which would it be?
Google

If I could wave my magic wand and make one thing work better in your business or career, what would it be?
Believe it or not, you’re “waving” it right now. We just need greater awareness and your inviting me on your podcast (among other things) is key.

If one press outlet (Internet, TV, Radio, Anything) would feature you, which would it be and what would the headline or story be?
I’d pick either NPR or the Wall Street Journal. Those are THE places to be featured in my mind. Title would be “Game Changer” and it would be about me helping Powered change the game for big companies using social.

What are the three actions you’ve taken in the last 2 years that have had the most positive effect on your bank account?

• Ha! Well, coming to work for Powered didn’t hurt. 
• Signing on with a financial advisor kept my wife and I out of trouble during the most recent downturn 
• Moving from Boston (expensive) to Austin (inexpensive)

What is the specific area of knowledge where you think you know more than anyone else in business? For what are you the penultimate expert?
I’m not sure I know more than anyone else here but I’d say I’m probably in the top .1% in the country when it comes to combining the power of traditional marketing and social. As for penultimate area where I’m an expert, I’m a pretty darn good photographer with my iPhone.

How do you keep up with and consume industry-related news? RSS Reader, email, surf sites?
Twitter (following specific folks as a filter), Google Reader, Yammer and a strong network of smart people in Austin that keep me abreast of what’s important

What’s one efficiency trick you use that you can share with us?
Find GREAT filters and use them as a cheat.

Describe your vision of personal success. When will you KNOW you are successful?
When friends and family can say to me, “oh yeah, I’ve heard of your company.” Secondarily, financial independence.

What’s one thing you are doing right now to change or improve yourself?
I’m constantly working on my listening skills and attention to detail. I try and be conscious of these two “areas for improvement” on a daily basis and work iteratively to improve these two areas.

Is there a place in your life where you are not walking your talk?
Not always as good a dad as I could be. I tell my kids not to yell and find myself doing that to them more often than I’d like. From a professional standpoint, I need to do more on the measurement front with our own business.

Describe a major change in your life you navigated successfully.
I’d say my move from a “digital” marketer to a “social” marketer back in 2006 was pretty successful. I’m also proud of the fact that I played a large roll in transforming Mzinga from a non-entity to one of the top 2-3 players in the social space back in early 2008.

Describe an experience that moved you to tears.
The birth of our first child — this was on two fronts. One, she was emergency c-section. Two, holding your child for the first time is beyond words.

If you could spend your time any way you wanted, without any financial worries, what would you do?
Traveling, playing with the kids, having dinner with my wife, on the beach, scuba diving, taking pictures.

What is your favorite conference to attend and why?
SXSW – best networking around (oh, and some pretty decent parties too).

What book you most recommended to your friends? Or Have you ever bought multiple copies of a book or music to share because you were so moved? 
From a business perspective, I liked Groundswell a lot and have recommended it to a number of friends. On the personal side, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road was a pretty freaking amazing book. Can’t wait for the movie.

Who is your mentor?
This is somewhat ever changing right now. Let’s say that I more influenced by folks than being actively mentored. People like Todd Defren (Shift), Peter Kim (Dachis Group), Jeremiah Owyang (Altimeter), Bert DuMars (Newell Rubbermaid), my fellow podcast host, Jennifer Leggio (ZD Net), Rachel Happe & Jim Storer (The Community Roundtable), Tim Walker (Hoovers) and Kyle Flaherty (Breaking Point Systems)

What is the axiom by which you live your life?
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” That and “Pay it forward.”

How much do you think luck has played a role in your success?
Zero. I have hustled, worked hard and made my own luck.

Who are three of the most amazing people in Advertising and Web 2.0 and why?
You would be one of them. You’ve done a gorgeous job of combining the two. Barry Judge of BestBuy and Tim Armstrong, now at AOL.

Are you on the boards of any companies or charitable organizations?
I am. I am currently on the advisory board of BuzzGain, SavvyAuntie.com, Social Media Marketing Institue and Dialogue. I also sit on the interim board of the Social Media Club. I need to get on the board of a non-profit or two [post script: I am playing the role of team leader for Team Austin raising money (for) and awareness of men's health issues. This is for a project called Movember].

What is the one thing people misunderstand most about you?
Good question. I guess it’s them thinking that I’m “social media” guy when I’m really a marketing guy. Social media is obviously a big part of marketing but it’s not the only thing I do.

For what do you want to be remembered professionally?
The fact that I helped 3-4 companies get achieve success through digital and social marketing efforts. That and the fact that I know my shit and that I’m always happy to help others learn.

The worst “fork in the road”-bad-decision that you regret.
I wish I had gone the startup route earlier on in my career. That’s no disrespect to Fidelity because I loved my time there but I see friends like Tim Armstrong who went startup and is now running AOL after being the president of sales at Google.

Your most sinful, decadent, guilty pleasure?
A good slasher movie. Lots of blood and guts.

The thing you did that pushed your edge the hardest in your whole life?
Definitely grad school. Balancing working 30 hours a week, paying for school and trying to keep up was A LOT of work. It didn’t help that I was only 21 at the time.

If you could change one thing about the business world it would be ______?

To make it more innovative and less fearful of change.

Where will social networking evolve from today?
Like the internet, I think social networking is just going to become like electricity over time. It will be ubiquitous and people won’t even think of it as social networking.

How do you chill?
I love to grill, have a few beverages with my wife and/or friends. Take in an occasional ball game. You know, guy stuff.

Your greatest achievement?
Landing meetings with the Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, Dan Rosensweig, COO of Yahoo and Jeff Jordan, President of eBay within a three hour window back in 2003. That was pretty cool.

What do you value in your friends?
Humor, authenticity, reliability.

Who is the wisest person you've met?
My friend Mukund Mohan is pretty damn wise. Tim O’Reilly also fits this bill.

Where were you born? Where were your parents born? Where were your grandparents born? Where were your Great Grandparents born? 
Portland, ME — Portland, ME — Various parts of Maine — Scotland, and various parts of Maine.

Where were you and what were you doing:
12 minutes ago?
Austin, TX — answering these questions

12 hours ago?
New York City, NY -- sleeping

12 weeks ago? 
Lots of places including San Francisco, Atlanta, New York and Boston (but living in Austin, TX)

12 months ago? 
Melrose, MA

12 years ago? 
Boston, MA

24 years ago? 
Amherst, MA

What travel experience changed your life? 
I spent to summers in Russia. It was amazing.

What is on your bucket list? Top 5 things on you would like to do?

• Scuba dive in the Blue Hole in Belize 
• Open my own restaurant or café 
• Climb Mt. Everest 
• Write a book 
• Spend a winter (summer there) in New Zealand 

What are you doing now as a hobby? 
I love to cook (beyond just grilling) and I love to take photographs.

What activity could you do all day long without getting bored?
Ummmm... other than “that” thing, I think the other thing I could do all day is to cook. Yup, I really enjoy cooking. I could also preoccupy myself once in a while on Twitter. Perhaps you’ve noticed? ;)

What community groups do you belong to? 
On LinkedIn, I’m part of the Social Media Marketing and Community 2.0 groups. As I mentioned earlier, I’m also a board member of the Social Media Club. And I’vs sort of unofficially become part of Bryan Person’s Social Media Breakfast organization (although my roll is minimal).

What is your favorite source for news?
NPR and ReadWriteWeb

Have you ever witnessed a perception-changing event in your life? 
Visiting a maximum security prison in Washington DC when I was 22 was pretty perception changing.

Who defines greatness for you?
A commitment to excellence

Have you changed your lifestyle since the Global Warming issue hit the world stage?
Yes. I’m driving a more gas efficient car now and we do a lot more recycling now.

What is your big wish, idealistic or otherwise?
That my children grow up to be happy, well-adjusted adults. On the big picture front, I’d like to see us eliminate civil war in places like Africa and the Middle East.

Where do you draw your strength and inspiration?
My wife to a great degree. My parents are also quite inspiring.

What do you think are the key issues for business professionals in the 21st Century?
Green, social and adjustment to the Age Wave.

From Bernard Pivot: If you were reincarnated as some other plant or animal, what would it be?
Either a shark or an eagle.

From Marcel Proust: What is your most marked characteristic?
My dark, dark, dark sense of humor.

Two questions a la James Lipton:
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
I love nature – particularly the ocean which is one of the reasons I love scuba diving. Jonathan Livingston Seagull was also a pretty inspirational book.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I’ve always thought about being a college professor (and might someday).

No kidding, right?

A few weeks after I did my interview with Susan, I had a chance to be the guest host on her DishyMix show and chose to interview my friend, Eric Ryan, who also happens to be the co-founder and chief brand officer at Method. While I did not put him through the same set of questions that Susan put me through, I tried to channel my inner "Bratton." I'll let you be the judge of how I did.

Thanks again Susan for teaching me so much. I can't wait to get back at it with you next March at SXSW. We are going to rock the house!

Quick-n-dirty Podcast Recap 17: Yelp-ing it Up

I have a rule with e-mail. It's called the 2 minute/2 week rule. You can probably guess what the rule is but if not, it means that I try and respond to most e-mails within 2 minutes. The reason being, if I don't get to it in 2 minutes, it usually sits in my inbox until I'm on a plane so you get a response 2 weeks later.

The reason I bring my "rule" up is that I'm taking that approach with today's Quick-n-Dirty podcast wrap up. I'm hustling a little bit because I have to leave in 45 minutes to pick friends up at the airport. We're going to the Austin City Limits music festival this weekend so if I don't do this now, you won't get the recap until Monday or Tuesday of next week.

With that as a caveat [ahem, excuse] for my pithiness, onto to the deets. Oh, remember that you can always download these podcasts on iTunes, listen to show archives here or find recaps of past episodes on this blog and co-host, Jennifer Leggio's Feeds blog on ZDNet focused on social business.

Highlights from this week's show:

• Featured Social Network: Gowalla. The easy way to describe it is that it's a FourSquare knock off but don't just take my word for it. TechCrunch did a good comparison of Gowalla and FourSquare if you're looking for a more detailed description of each. To that end, Gowalla does have some cool additional features like recommended user generated walking tours. Jennifer isn't a fan, especially because of it's wonky GPS capabilities. The jury is still out with me.
• Special Guest: Vince Solitto, VP of Communications, Yelp. Okay, I feel a little bit bad because Jennifer and I definitely put Vince on the "Budweister hot seat" with some of our questions. Given Vince's background in politics, he seemed to handle the pressure without any problem. The one big takeaway that I didn't realize about Yelp is that only a third of their reviews/ratings are for restaurants. The rest are for services -- similar to Angie's List -- think dentists, doctors and daycare. Who knew?

• Featured Tweeter: Simon Mainwaring. I've recently put Simon in my "Trust Tree" list on Tweetdeck -- that's the 100 or so people that I follow closely for one reason or another. The main reason Jennifer and I liked Simon as a choice is that 1 out of every 3 tweets is a link to some great report or statistic on social media, marketing or Web 2.0. Given his background (big brand/big agency), methinks he knows about that which he speaks.
• Point / Counterpoint: This week's discussion was short and sweet. We focused on third part social networks' "ownership" of content. Jennifer said that she didn't like places like Facebook, Twitter and Ning owning some rights to her content but she went into the deal "in the know" (she reads ever word of ever terms of service). My contention is that as an individual, I don't care much that the socnets own my stuff but when it comes to business, companies should be careful. One MAJOR argument for considering a branded only community in addition to joining these places (and yes, I admitted on the show that this is a little self-serving given the fact that I work at a company that builds branded online communities). Whatever! ;)
• Give away: we also gave away another pass to the upcoming Inbound Marketing Summit. The lucky winner was none other than Mr. Michael J. Russel for his very clever Q-n-D Haiku. Hope he can make it!

So that's it. That's the recap. Don't miss next week's show where we'll discuss the hashtag study that Jennifer conducted with our friend and fan, Deb Robison. If you haven't weighed in yet, be sure to do so. Also, we are broadcasting live from Blogworld Expo in two weeks. If you have suggestions on anyone that you think we should interview, tweet us or put your reco in the comments!

Better Late than Never: Brogan Interviews Strout

When I first joined Powered Inc. last November, one of the first tactical things we did on the PR front was to announce my arrival at the company. One of the things our agency (pre-SHIFT) recommended was picking an A-list blogger to interview me. Given my pre-existing relationship with Chris Brogan, combined with his focus on inbound marketing, I thought he'd be the perfect person.

Fortunately, Chris was only at 200% capacity at that point since he had yet to publish his NY Times bestselling book, Trust Agents, with Julien Smith. The podcast itself is fairly raw (thanks to friend, Jim Storer, who did some light editing) but I was pleasantly surprised at how relevant it still is. Particularly since I had only been at Powered for a little over a month so I was on the early part of my knowledge ramp.



If you're an advocate of content marketing (hint hint Ann Handley, Simon Salt, Natanya Anderson and Joe Pulizzi), I'd love to get your thoughts in the comments below.

The NEW American Dream: An Ongoing Conversation

Back in May, two of my favorite content providers, Bill Simmons aka The Sports Guy and Malcolm Gladwell of Tipping Point and Blink fame engaged in an running blog post regarding the NBA among many other things. Not only was this a brilliant three part series but it has inspired me to create a running dialog with good friend, author and PR blogger, John Cass to do something similar regarding AMC's brilliant tv show, Madmen, the future of the American Dream and the role social media plays in changing the rules.

With that as a backdrop, John was kind enough to kick this off with his first shot. I'm not sure whether we'll continue this as a "part II" etc. but maybe we'll carry it over into the comments depending on how interested people are in the

topic...

-------

From: John Cass

Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2009 12:21 PM

To: Aaron Strout

Subject: RE: American Dream: Social Media

Aaron,

There's a documentary attached to the Mad Men DVD series that describes the culture of advertising and Madison Avenue in the 1960s. After watching the documentary, the film emphasized that advertising helped to promote the meme of the American Dream by encouraging people in the 1960s to buy products so that as an American you could demonstrate you have arrived in middle class America. As advertising is no longer as effective as it once was, who is promoting the idea of the American Dream? Does social media have a role in defining today’s American Dream? Are your peers, friends and families developing the American Dream?

Also, given the recent concerns about pay per post and the influence of consumer product companies on bloggers, is the web evolving to the point where bloggers are becoming a proxy for advertisers? Susan Getgood discusses more on this idea of advertisers using bloggers as a proxy, and describes the pitfalls of the FTC Even if you do disclose payment or receiving a free product, I wonder are today’s champions of the 1960s idea of the American Dream, bloggers?

John

-------

From: Aaron Strout
Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 1:25 PM

To: John Cass
Subject: RE: American Dream: Social Media

John,

I was ecstatic when you first mentioned this concept – the fact that watching the documentary about the advertising industry on the Madmen season 2 DVD prompted you to ask the question, “if the ad men of the 1960’s essentially created the American Dream,” what does that mean in an era where advertising as we know it is all but dead? Or more importantly, what does that mean in an era where the greatest influencers of purchase behavior are now “us?”

I’ve responded with some thoughts and a question of my own. Hopefully we can engage in a few of these back and forth e-mails and then cross-post on our respective blogs. Ready?

Our mutual friend and senior Forrester analyst, Jeremiah Owyang, has an interesting theory about microinfluence / microcelebrities. I won’t pretend to be able to discuss this topic as eloquently as Mr. Owyang but the high level take away is that rather than having national or even regional ad campaigns driven by well known celebrities, we will instead seek out the folks like Robert Scoble, Chris Brogan and Gary Vaynerchuk -- leaders in the tech gadget, inbound marketing and wine enthusiast space -- to tell us which gadgets to buy, which trends to follow and what wines we should be collecting.

There is a reason I’ve singled out these three individuals is that all three have large voices in their respective fields – easily hundreds of thousands of followers that read their blogs, watch their videos and flock to them in droves at conferences and tweetups alike. These new influencers have many big brands and their agencies scratching their heads as they try and figure out how to tap into this “micro” power. Some have tried the paid for blogger route like K-Mart did via third party, Izea, with Brogan. While K-Mart, Chris and Izea all got their fair share of publicity out of this initiative, it was not exactly as they imagined. Quite frankly, I’m not sure the world is ready for paid for blogging… yet.

In the case of Scoble, he got snatched up by hosting giant, Rackspace, with a goal of having him continue his legacy of great content creation. Gary “Vee” as many of his fans know him has been the most successful by using his micro celebrity-hood to grow his family’s multi-million dollar wine and spirits business It’s only a matter of time before a big vintner or distributor scoops him up.

As the pack of micro-celebrities rise, the big question is what impact will this new breed have on “the American Dream?” Will Scoble drive future generations to schizophrenically jump from technology to technology, always seeking out the latest and greatest regardless of the brand? Will Chris Brogan lead to a new generation of voracious readers that eschew traditional marketing techniques for “new marketing?” Will Gary “Vee” as his fans know him teach people to turn the wine industry on its head by ignoring traditional ratings and reviews of current oenophiles and seek value and passion from their wine instead?

The one question you teed up inyour previous e-mail that I really like was one of “how the world will see America” in the future as a result of the shift in power from Madison Avenue to Joe blogger / Twitterer. I can’t help but think that this is going to be one of the areas of greatest impact, namely because people from all over the world can play a role in shaping opinion of products and services irrespective of their location. A developer in India can have the same voice as a designer in China, a marketer in Australia and an aspiring musician in LA. Instead of a select few ad men telling us what we’ll like and dislike, we’ll be listening to the micro-influencers while quietly helping to shape their opinion through wall posts, tweets and blog comments.

Instead of an “them vs. us” mentality, likes and dislikes will transcend geo-boundaries and rally around interests so “them” in the future might be “Google-ites” and the “us” might be “Apple enthusiasts.” So a question for you. What products that have traditionally been driven by Madison Avenue – like soft drinks, running shoes or jeans – will be impacted the soonest by this paradigm shift?

Best,

Aaron

-------

Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 7:01 AM

From: John Cass

To: Aaron Strout

Subject: RE: American Dream: Social Media

Aaron,

I think Jeremiah's idea about sponsoring online celebrities makes a lot of sense. I think if you look at the Radian6 Twebinar campaign, not only was the campaign successful for Radian6, it launched the company, but the event helped propel Chris Brogan forward as well. Though to me, Robert, Chris and Gary are not really microcelebrities, certainly not Gary or Robert.

While paid for blogging might not work, hiring someone for consulting and moderating the event does appear to do, look at the twebinar again. As to your question about product, I think there's already been some movement look at Zappos and their strategy for using social media for selling shoes, I am sure the crowd has influenced their approach to selling and what to sell.

But let me think more on this question. In the meantime let me ask you this question: The American dream concept was originally meant that people had the opportunity to pursue their own personal dream. Does the advent of personal publishing, cloud computing, and the culture of participation now mean that the American dream can finally be achieved for more people

John

-------

From: Aaron Strout
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 12:38 AM

To: John Cass

Subject: RE: American Dream: Social Media

John,

Great responses. Although I’m curious as to why you don’t think Robert, Gary and maybe even Chris aren’t microcelebrities? Is that because you think that they are too well known? If not them, then who are the microcelebrities? This is not a loaded question – I am genuinely curious.

Good call on the Radian6 Twebinar campaign. And I like Zappos as an example of social helping to sell shoes (and other stuff). They are a company that everyone should have on their radar. Although I’m concerned about how being owned by Amazon may affect their autonomy. I haven’t seen any drastic changes in behavior yet but I’d be surprised if they don’t try and reel in CEO, Tony Hsieh, a bit as his ongoing transparency could become a liability for the corporation. I have a couple of friends that work at Amazon. Maybe I’ll see if I can get their take. I may also consider asking Tony to come on the Quick-n-Dirty podcast show I do with my friend, Jennifer Leggio.

Onto your question for me regarding the American Dream and whether it's finally achievable thanks to social media. I'm going to give you a consulting answer and say, "maybe." By the way, I thought you'd appreciate that I'm writing my response to you while on a plane from NYC to Atlanta and the last episode of season 2 from Madmen is on - very apropos given the impetus for this post.

To drill down on my answer a little, I'll go further and say that the reason that we haven't fully achieved the American Dream due to the mass adoption of social media is that many people are still limited by time and connectivity. What I mean by this is that while WiFi access is more

accessible than ever (especially thanks to public libraries and internet cafes), a number of people, especially those who work in more traditional blue collar industries typically can't get to libraries or internet cafes during work hours. Also, for people working 1+ jobs a day, engaging in social media is a luxury. With that said, I'll say that we are close. I think that if there is a will, there is a way. Especially with the ever increasing penetration of internet enabled phones.

So, I think it's time for me to tee up a question for you. If a slice of the American Dream is for any musical artist to make money from the sale of their music, do all the downward pressures of free (albeit illegal) services like Bit Torrent and the rise of all-you-can eat services offered by Napster and some of the big wireless carriers going to rob these artists of this possibility?

Best,

Aaron

------
From: John Cass

Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 7:18 AM

To: Aaron Strout
Subject: RE: American Dream: Social Media

Hi Aaron,

I think I'd have to understand the definition of a microcelebrity, maybe it's someone who is only famous within their own field? But when I think of Gary or Robert I believe they have transcended their field and have broader fame. Certainly Gary has that level with all of his TV appearances.

Do you recall the interchange between the Amazon.com CTO or CIO and a blogger a few years ago about social media, it could have been Robert Scoble. Might be interesting to look back at that and see if the CTO is still around?? Perhaps its time for Amazon.com to change and not Zappos!

What you say about the digital divide is true, though you gave me an idea, perhaps most people don't know how they can use social media for creativity, I wonder if our article should also attempt to inspire people to achieve all that they can do. I've always been motivated to give adults another chance through education, even though their current life might seem as if its difficult to change. I think social media gives people another easier opportunity to change themselves into something they want to be.

Regarding music, I think we've seen so many examples of unknown bands making it big because of their use of social media, that I'd argue that social media is more of a help to music by keeping it rich and varied rather than just corporate. It seems to me the quality of
American music has improved, maybe it is difficult for me to argue that social media was the cause but I suspect it was. For some big artists there may not be the same opportunity as there was in the 80's with making as much money, but perhaps now more artists will be able to make a living. I think that artists have to look for alternative ways to make money, such as concert tickets and other goods, the music can be sold but perhaps sometimes that's the loss leader to build the long term relationship.

John

-------
From: Aaron Strout

Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 1:23 PM

To: John Cass Subject: RE: American Dream: Social Media

John,

I was hoping that was the direction you were going with the microcelebrity thing. You're right in the sense that Scoble and Garyvee have become semi-well known in the non-social circles. Chris B. is on his way there. [POST SCRIPT: I talked to Brogan last night and with his NY Times bestselling book and an upcoming television appearance on Dr. Phil have likely solidified his position as non-microcelebrity]

Great point on social helping bands. I've definitely seen it help some of the bigger bands like Radiohead and I'm sure there are hundreds of stories of smaller, lesser known bands tapping into the likes of MySpace and Twitter to grow their followings (same can be said about Pandora helping out). As for inspiring people to achieve all they can do, I like that goal. I'm going to suggest that for a different post. In fact, I just watched a movie last night called Revolutionary Road. A bit depressing but very well acted and it had a great message i.e. be careful of what you settle for. You game? Either way, doing this post via e-mail with you has been a blast. Your move..

Best,

Aaron

-------

From: John Cass

Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 2:43 PM

To: Aaron Strout Subject:

RE: American Dream: Social Media

Aaron,

Super, I'd definitely be up for continuing the conversation in a different post.I really like the idea of the American Dream inspiring people to be more than they are... especially already established and older people who might no longer be all that motivated because of where circumstances and choices have taken them in life. I think there's always hope, and it would be interesting to explore how social media has changed people's lives.

Great to collaborate on these ideas.. On a topical note, but seemingly related, I've been listening to some of the radio eulogies about Ted Kennedy, certainly a very inspiring man who drew a lot strength from his family, experiences and even tragedies, but who did something with those experiences.

John

Photo courtesy: http://kristisiegel.com